What You Should Know About Sunscreens

June 16, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

Image courtesy of NASA

I was recently asked about sunscreens, and if organic ones were good. It is a complicated issue. As I have many times, I turned to Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Database. EWG just released a report on sunscreens for 2011. There is a great deal of information in this report. Badger’s sunscreens, which my family is currently using, are right near the top on EWG’s list of Best Beach and Sport Sunscreens.

EWG also listed the best non-mineral sunscreens, moisturizing sunscreens and tinted sunscreens. Along with the best, there are lists of the worst, and things you should know about most sunscreens. EWG is a real stickler about safety of ingredients, and is critical of the FDA and Skin Cancer Foundation. EWG does not believe that the FDA goes far enough in how it rates and regulates sunscreen. It also believes that the Skin Cancer Foundation does not hold companies that get its approval up to enough scrutiny.

The take-away is 1) do your homework 2) clothing and hats are the safest way to protect against the sun.

Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep: Sunscreens 2011

Filed Under: Beauty, Health, Organic, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Healthy Make-Up

April 18, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

Americans spend about $8 billion on cosmetics annually, according to World Watch Institute. That’s a whole lot of dough to look pretty. The next question might be; how good, or bad, for us are the cosmetics we shell out billions for each year? We slather, spray, smear, spritz, and rub these potions and lotions directly onto our largest organ, our skin. Even though our skin is a barrier, it is still quite permeable. Our skin absorbs all sorts of things, both good and bad.

Are there cosmetics that are healthier for us? Are there cosmetics that are dangerous? There answer to both these questions is yes. There are still lipsticks being sold that have lead in the ingredients; bad. Many cosmetics are now made without any petrochemicals: good. I could literally write page after page about numerous cosmetic companies. I won’t do that. I will list a few that have extremely low toxicity levels and then give you a link to do some research for yourself.

Coastal Classic Creations

Rejuva Minerals

Maia’s Mineral Galaxy

Erth Mineral

Terra Firma Cosmetics

Luna Organics

Miessence

Zosimos Botanicals

To check out the cosmetics that you are currently using go to Cosmetic Database by Environmental Working Group and see how your products stack up. I will warn you, this database is huge. The site also asks for a small donation to support its work, but it is not required to use the database.

The cosmetic companies I listed all signed the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics pledge. Many other companies signed as well, but these companies repeatedly showed up with low toxicity levels.

I have not tried any of the brands listed. I have used Bare Escentuals and Arbonne in the past. Bare Escentuals, or Bare Minerals as it is also known, has some good products that are considered safe, but there are some questionable ingredients, like mica. Arbonne has not been tested by the Cosmetic Database, so I would rather not make a recommendation based on safety at this time, but I have been happy with its products. I hope this helps some people sort through the vast sea of cosmetics, and weed out some of the more toxic items in your dressing table.

Filed Under: Beauty, Health, Organic Tagged With: , , , , , ,

It’s Time to Leave the Bottled Water on the Shelf

January 6, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

As if people needed more reasons to dump bottled water, this report by the Environmental Working Group on Bottled Water should be the extra push that some need.

The are so many reasons to leave bottled water on the shelf:

1. Out of the 60 billion PET containers used each year only about 28% of those were recycled (Container Recycling Institute)

2. Plastic waste is found everywhere on the planet, including the ocean

3. Plastic does not biodegrade, but photodegrades into smaller and smaller pieces, which are then consumed by animals

4. Bottled water is expensive, costing up 100 billion a year for the U.S. alone (OneWorld.net)

5. Tap water is more closely regulated than bottled water by the Environmental Protection Agency

6. A reusable stainless steel water bottle won’t leach chemicals, even when left in a hot car

7. Home water purification systems cost pennies on the dollar compared to bottled water (Natural Resources Defense Council)

8. Bottled water uses between 32 and 54 million barrels of oil to bottle and ship in the U.S. alone (Live Science).

Do yourself, your wallet, oil reserves, animals and the planet a favor and leave the bottled water on the shelf.  Invest in reusable, quality water bottles.  There are many styles and materials to choose from: stainless steel, glass, nylon, aluminum and BPA-free plastic.  I  keep a bottle in my car that I fill as needed.  Each member of my family has at least one water bottle.

Photo courtesy of Reuseit

Reusable water bottles are everywhere now; local grocery stores, national chain stores, eco-stores and online stores.  In Eau Claire I can find reusable water bottles at Mother Natures’s Foods, Little Bare Bottoms, Festival Foods, Target, Scheels etc…  Online I can find them at Reuseit, GreenFeet, Amazon, EcoBags, Uncommon Goods, etc…  There is NO reason not to buy a reusable water bottle anymore, and there is a long list of reasons to NOT buy bottled water.  Make the change.

Filed Under: Reduce and Reuse Tagged With: , , , , , ,